On the surface, Syria and Libya seem like very similar “Arab Spring” situations. There are distinct differences, however. Key US allies, in particular France and Britain, have substantial stakes in Libyan oil interests while none of the western countries have appreciable involvement in Syrian resources. Ugly as it is, that’s the simple reality of it.

In the Global War on Terror, which political correctness now calls “Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO), the Taliban, especially in Afghanistan, has always been the enemy of concern. I believe the war in Iraq distracted us—the US—from the key fight against terrorism and allowed the Taliban to build the insurgency we are now battling. We are paying a price—in lives, dollars, and public support—for failing to keep the focus where it needed to be.

Despite such recent history, my concern is we’re about to repeat the same mistake regarding operations in Afghanistan as we did in 2003. It doesn’t matter if it’s as big as Operation Iraqi Freedom or as small as training teams for Libya. In the likely future of constrained resources, we can’t afford anything taking our eye off the ball. And in my mind, we cannot permit the Taliban, who aided and abetted the 9/11 terrorists, any appreciable powerbase in Afghanistan.

[T]he key is not to try to cut more out of programs for poor folks or programs for seniors. The key right now is to get a long-term plan for fiscal stability. And in the short term, we should actually make more investments that would put people to work and get the economy moving.

The riots we saw play out in London and the greater UK may have involved thuggery and looting, but the driving force was much the same as the protests, riots, and uprisings we saw in the middle east in the first half of 2011. As in the middle east (specifically, Tunisia), the catalyst for the London riots involved a single person, in this case a teenager who was reportedly beaten by police. In response and looking for any reason to rebel and revolt, large masses of people, namely those living in poverty in the UK, organized and then headed for town squares, where the burned, pillaged and fought. While the London riots are being written off by many as nothing more than a bunch of vagrants and welfare recipients looking to loot small businesses, there is a strong likelihood that similar incidents will play out on the streets of America. In fact, it can be argued that this is what we are seeing already, as groups of teenagers and gangs are organizing via social networks and subsequently causing chaos, violence and looting. For now, like in London, we are seeing the poverty stricken segments of society losing it, and it is being downplayed strictly as criminal mob-driven behavior. But soon, as Michael suggests in the article below, more and more people will lose everything. And, as our favorite trend forecaster Gerald Celente has oft repeated, “when people lose everything, and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it.”

What I’m asking is for Americans reach out and help because the situation is dire. There is hope if people start to pay attention to this.

How do you suppose Dr. Biden got to the refugee camp in Kenya? Probably by C-32, the US Air Force designation for a Boeing 757 aircraft. The flight to and from cost taxpayers about $797,066, based on official costs of $25,547 and flight times of 15.6 hours. On top of that, add Secret service and protection costs, ground transportation, and lodging costs.

At a cost easily exceeding $1 million, can someone tell me how Jill Biden’s visit to a refugee camp is helping address the problem? Wouldn’t it just make more sense to provide direct aid to the Somalis? Just sayin’…

Beyond domestic politics and policy, why Libya? President Obama says the basis of intervention is preventing a “humanitarian threat.” But how is Libya different from Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, or even Darfur? Certainly there were or still are humanitarian threats in those places. But no international hue and cry and no international intervention. With inconsistent policy and unpredictable actions, we should not be surprised other countries view the US with suspicion and a degree of mistrust.